UPDATE: Sony PR is perturbed. They issued this statement to The Guardian:
“The PS Vita has had a terrific launch and sold in large numbers. We’re annoyed with these stories, because we can’t find any evidence of widespread glitches. The stories even said that Sony has issued an apology for PS Vita glitches, which simply isn’t true – there’s an apology on our Japanese website for people who are having trouble getting through to our technical help line, but that’s it.”
Apparently, this could be a case of something being lost in translation.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Sony just launched their brand new handheld device, the Vita, in Japan last Friday and although the initial sales figures looks promising, the device sort of stumbled out of the gate.
Customers flooded Twitter and YouTube with complaints about the new gaming system. Users reported numerous problems like lagging out, freezing and even all out crashes during gameplay. Some users reported unresponsive touchscreens as well.
Another issue seems to involve the registering of PlayStation Network accounts. According to Computerworld, there was a little bit of over-complex tooling necessary to fix the problem:
The process of configuring a PlayStation Vita is excessively complex. Cheap Ass Gamer founder David “CheapyD” Abrams uploaded a video explaining how he had to set up a temporary PSN account to download the update due to a glitch stopping him from using a pre-existing PSN account. While the update only took a few minutes and fixed many of the problems, the process involved is something that’s bound to infuriate many new Vita owners until it’s rectified.
And while some kinks are expected on a huge gaming system launch, these problems have more than annoyed customers in Japan.
PlayStation’s Japanese site has issued an official statement on the problems, saying that they are sorry and that some problems can be fixed from home. (Translated)
Currently, our information center regarding PlayStation Vita as well as our usual customer service center are receiving many inquiries. We apologize if your phone isn’t connected straight away. Some issues regarding PlayStation Vita can be addressed by simple procedures at home.
PlayStation has given Japanese customers a FAQ database for getting their device up and running.
Good news for Sony, however – the Vita sold incredibly well in its first two days. According to initial estimates, the Vita sold a little over 321,000 units over the weekend. By comparison, the Nintendo 3DS sold 371,000 in the same timeframe and the PlayStation Portable only sold 166,000.
The PlayStation Vita is set to launch in the States on February 22nd. Let’s hope that it isn’t marred with the same issues when that time comes.